Hand drawn or painted FDC (first day covers) have been done since the 1940s. Over the past few years I have begun combining my collection of comic character hand drawn sketches with FDCs. This blog is being maintained for the purpose of sharing my collection...

Friday, March 29, 2013

Alex Saviuk started his professional career in 1977 at DC Comics, illustrating Green Lantern, the Flash and Superman. By the 1980's he was the regular backup feature artist on Action Comics illustrating stories that featured the Atom, Air-Wave and Aquaman. Saviuk and writer E. Nelson Bridwell introduced the Global Guardians in DC Comics Presents #46 (1982)...

Moving to marvel Comics in 1986, Saviuk became the key artist on Spider-Man, which included a 7-year run on Web of Spider-Man and 2-year run on Spider-Man Adventures. Since 1997 Saviuk has drawn The Amazing Spider-Man Sunday newspaper comic strip...

Saviuk has also illustrated Topps Comics The X-Files, 1997-1998...

Saviuk has co-created Sunburst, with Paul Kupperberg; Olympian with E. Nelson Bridwell; Tombstone, with Gerry Conway and the New Enforcers, with Terry Kavanagh...

Friday, March 22, 2013

So what does a bear do in the woods?
During a zombie apocalypse he kills zombies, aided by a yo-yo wielding rabbit!

Bear VS. Zombies is an action adventure, humor web-comic from Isaiah McCallister. He got the idea after reading The Walking Dead comic book series. Working with a previously created bear character, McCallister developed the story line of a zombie apocalypse from the view point of the animals.

I read a review of the web-comic that although the reviewer liked the story he had a problem with the pop-culture references being made by a bear and a rabbit. Really! Bear kills zombies with a bow and arrow and the rabbit, Duncan (get it!?), masterfully brandishes twin yo-yos better than Tommy Smothers!! And he was concerned with their knowledge of the human world!!!

Bear VS. Zombie has been published in a comic book by Scrimmage Books.

As of this post McAllister has delayed further posts of Bear vs Zombies due to his busy schedule with sketch cards for various companies...

For this sketch I used a cover with a 1990 pictorial cancel which features a teddy bear. The cancel is from Clarion, Iowa home of the Heartland Museum, which features the Artist Teddy Bear Exhibit. 1990 was the first Teddy Bear Reunion, which is held every 5-years in Clarion...

Friday, March 15, 2013

When I read the guest list for the Albany Comic Con, I recognized the name Joe Orsak. I had previously obtained a quick sketch of Elektra from Joe during a comic book and baseball card show at the Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY in 1992. While I was looking over his site Master Graphics I noted Orsak's work on sports related postal event covers. I thought this would be a great opportunity to obtain a sketch of US Women's Soccer star Mia Hamm on a 1996 Olympic Cover.

I had originally gone to the show, in 1992, to obtain autographs of the 1969 New York Mets and had hoped to meet Todd MacFarlane, but the line at his table was so long, I think there are a few people still waiting. Besides Orsak, I obtained a sketch of The Thing from Tom Morgan, who had worked as a penciller, inker and cover artist for Marvel Comics on Captain America, Punisher 2099 and Iron Man, as well as Action Comics and The Adventures of Superman for DC Comics...

and Jordan Raskin, who started his career in the 90s drawing "Predator: Race War" for Dark Horse Comics and "Ripclaw" for Top Cow, along with Tomb of Terror, Batman, Negative Burn, Spider-Man, Blood of Kali and other titles. Raskin has since moved on to animation working on "Courage the Cowardly Dog" as well as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"... Predator by Raskin

Since tomorrow is home opening day for the NY Redbulls 2013 season and I will be at the game, I will complete this post with a recent acquisition of a hand painted World Cup Soccer FDC by Don Thompson...

Friday, March 8, 2013

While checking out Kickstarter projects I came across Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot Hardback & Digital Comics, which was successfully funded on September 9, 2012. One of the incentives for becoming a backer of the project was a Bob Burden postcard (8.5 x 5.5) with artwork to cheer up whoever it was sent to. The project backer could request any Flaming Carrot character drawn by Burden with a greeting. (I left it up to Burden to chose the character). I am not quite sure how an offer for a reverse home mortgage could cheer me up. Oh, wait there's no qualifying credit requirements!!!

There were several great incentives but I could not walk away from receiving a sketch on a postcard sent through the mails...

The postcard front features the Flaming Carrot cover for The Wild Shall Wild Remain, the project is a re-issue of the previously release stories (4-11) in a signed numbered hard cover edition...

Bob Burden created the Flaming Carrot in 1979, when he appeared in Visions #1 published by the Atlanta Fantasy Fair. The Flaming Carrot has been published by Aardvark-Vanaheim, Renegade Press, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics and has appeared alongside the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Carrot's origin states that having read 5,000 comics in a single sitting to win a bet, this poor man suffered brain damage. He wears a giant carrot mask and is an original member of the Mystery Men...

Burden created Mystery Men and has written for Gumby, Cholly & Flytrap with Arthur Suydam and Robot Comics...

Huckleberry Hound is a laid-back blue dog with a Southern drawl, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, making his first appearance in 1958 in Huckleberry Hound Meets Wee Willie. I have strong memories of the Huckleberry Hound show, as I remember watching Huck and Yogi Bear and all the H-B characters during my chidlhood..

"Oh my darling, Oh my darling, Oh my darling Clementine

Thou are lost an gone forever, dreadful sorry Clementine..."

The stamp honors Owney (1887-1897) a stray mixed breed terrier adopted by the post office in Albany, NY, traveling throughout the 48 contiguous states as a mascot of the Railway Post Office. Owney is the subject of an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum and honored by the Postal Service July 27, 2011...

About Me

I have been a collector as far back as I can remember. Stamps, covers, autographs, baseball cards, comic books, coins, political buttons, sports memorabilia, space stamps and covers, and the list goes on.
This blog was set up to be able to share a small part of my collection with anyone who shares the interest.